In the semi-finals, I thought that Hu was a bit undermarked and that Tian was a bit overmarked. But Hu just ripped four of six his dives in the final -- 11 10's on six dives, seven of which counted -- and his other two weren't shabby either. Tian was sharper than in the prelims, but he just wasn't at his best. Helm's last dive was brilliant, and he has such lovely form. He was so shocked to find he was in second place! I have to admit a preference for divers who do the tuck with their knees together (Hu, Helm) over those who do the tuck with their knees apart (Tian, Despatie). Despatie was a bit hot and cold in the final, and he overpowered his last dive, as did Robert Newberry on the same last dive. Newberry, Leon Taylor, and Peter Waterfield had some beauties as well.

I think I've figured out why they have a jet spray going into the water but would like someone to confirm this. Is this because it makes it easier for the divers to spot where they are in relation to the water?

Despatie did really well in his first, third, and fifth dives, and not so well on his second, fourth, and sixth dives.

sadly, his even-numbered dives were the ones with the high degree of difficulty. the last dive carries a 3.8 degree of difficulty! he scored 107.8 at last year's worlds on that dive...the highest-scoring dive ever in history

sadly, his even-numbered dives were the ones with the high degree of difficulty. the last dive carries a 3.8 degree of difficulty! he scored 107.8 at last year's worlds on that dive...the highest-scoring dive ever in history

The chinese stratege is rely on their stablity. According to chinese coaches there are several difficult dives Despatie and Helm only have 50% sucess but Tian and Wu have 80 to 90 sucess. The young divers in chinese natinal team can do these 3.8 difficult dive but their consistance on lower DD dives are no where near Tian and Wu. Same goes for ladys in chinese team. Thus they choose the stability over dd. I don't know why Potter kept talked about Tian's lower DD in finals, she kept saying Tian is not planning 3.8 diver thus he has disadvantage, but compare Tian's DD with Depatie's in Finals, Tian only 0.1 less than Depatie. And I believe Wu had the lowest DD in finals than othe top 3 or 4. look where he gets, and most important he caught up to top in Finals with his lowest designed DDs.

Annie Pelletier, 1996 3m bronze medalist, who was analyst for Radio-Canada, French Canadian broadcaster of the Games, explained that it was to keep the divers' muscles warm after their dive. Then, they use their "special" towell to get quickly dry.

BTW, Annie did an excellent job. Some kind of Tracy Wilson for diving...

Regarding Alex Despatie, he was simply not sharp during the event. Both analysts for diving in Canada (on the English and the French network) said that he clearly won the practice that was held few minutes before the competition. Apparently, the two Chinese had problems with at least one dive, Helm was pretty solid and Despatie simply rocked.